


the only thing on my mind is having a good time when the moon appears

by NozomiPower



Series: we goin Ncity [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aliens, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Magical Boy Huang Ren Jun, Magical Boys, Rating May Change, Robots, VERY well, Witch Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Witches, all the nct members show up, but those are the more major characters, decoded entries of light can be found on my fic twitter, hyuckrensung friendship, i didn't plan this out, i think, nctrans, robot android alien jisung, yeah i fucked up the characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-10-17 21:24:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17568194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NozomiPower/pseuds/NozomiPower
Summary: (Let's not kill the karmaLet's not start a fightIt's not worth the dramaFor a beautiful liar)Huang Renjun is a magical boy, hereditary. He goes through his life hiding his secret from his best friends, Na Jaemin and Lee Jeno. When he goes into his first day of third grade, everything is turned topsy turvy. from there, things escalate, in every sense. Nothing is the same.(title taken from when the sun goes down by selena gomez and the scene)





	1. the day’s been plastered with fake smiles (i feel like a see saw errday)

**Author's Note:**

> title of chapter from seesaw by gowon ft chuu and kim lip
> 
> Personal Twitter: chenlelovesite  
> au Twitter: chenlesbloom  
> fanfic centric Twitter: coming soon tbh

_ Entry of Light-Renjun _

  
  


_ Today, I met [REDACTED] for the first time. He's a [REDACTED]. He's very funny. Though, I never thought he would [REDACTED] I hope everything is okay with him. I hope he doesn't get hurt. _

* * *

 

"...and that is why the teletubbies were probably the most important things in history and were most likely magical creatures you could only summon in the dead of night."

 

Renjun just listened to his best friend, Jaemin, rant about the teletubbies. His other best friend, Jeno, groaned.

 

"Jaem, you know magic isn't real. That sort of stuff only exists in media!"

 

_ If only you could know. _

 

"Magic is real! I've seen it!"

 

Renjun perked up. What was Jaemin talking about? When could he have seen magic?

 

"Really now? When?" Jeno just sounded like a skeptic, almost condescending.

 

"Three days ago!"

 

Renjun's face scrunched up. Three days ago? But that day, he was...no. Jaemin couldn't have.

 

"What did you see? A dog talk? A ghost? A fairy? Or is your child mind messing with you?"

 

Jaemin's face screwed up. He didn't like the way Jeno was talking to him. And what did he mean by 'child mind'? They're both nine! They're both children!

 

"I saw someone flying! They were flying on a broomstick, but like a surf boarder. When they saw me, they fell! They looked really familiar."

 

Oh  _ no _ .

 

Renjun face blanched. He had been the one flying that day! Three days ago was when he was practicing so he could impress his cousins! He was panicking, what if Jaemin found out? What if jeno found out? What would he do? 

 

Jeno scoffed, rolling his eyes. He stood, grabbing his jacket and backpack, scowling.

 

"I have to go. Talk to you later." He leaves without another word, leaving tension behind. Jaemin looks close to tears and Renjun can't help but be just a little angry at Jeno. How could he be so rude? Jaemin is not only right, but he's also just a kid. 

 

Jaemin's soft hiccups pull Renjun out of his thoughts. He looks up to meet Jaemin's tearful eyes.

 

"Is Jeno mad at me? Did I make him leave? Is it my fault he's gonna stop being friends with us?" Jaemin's tears fell faster, leaving wet spots on the ground. Renjun scrambled out of his chair, enveloping Jaemin in a hug.

 

"No! No, none of it is your fault. Jeno is just a nonbeliever. He's not into the strange like you and me. We're not gonna stop being friends." He pulled away from Jaemin, a big smile on his face. Jaemin smiled back, big and bright. He smiled deviously before winding his arms around Renjun's waist and placing a big, wet kiss on his cheek.

 

"Ew! No! Jaeminnie, why would you do that?!"

 

They laugh and laugh and laugh until they can laugh no more, and yet they continue to laugh.

* * *

 

Summer ended that day. Jeno had talked to them more, and the three of them made a promise.

 

_ "We'll always be best friends forever! We three will be together, forever! Promise!" _

 

Unbeknownst to those three best friends, the universe holds promises dear. Break the promise, and all hell will break loose. Bu they don't mind. They'll keep their promise.

 

Renjun stood before the gates of his elementary school, anxious about something. He felt a strange presence in the school, a magical intruder. He shuddered as a student brushed past him, muttering under their breath. Renjun moved forward, walking in tandem with the people around him. He made his way to the entrance of the school, pausing very briefly before walking inside. Immediately, he gasps, face turning very slightly blue. He turned to his right, facing the blocked off hallway. There's a barricade of police tape, and some officers standing there. He shouldn't be curious, but he  _ is _ . Whatever magic is making him feel like passing out is coming from the abandoned area of the school, which consisted of the fourth and fifth floor. Usually, the area to the stairs was just blocked by some signs and warning tent things. But today, there was higher security, and it spread a chill through Renjun. He knew he had to go.

 

Renjun muttered a low spell of invisibility, the words leaving his lips with ease.

 

_ For every stare, every laugh, every shred of sound, turn my body clear. For I wish to go by undetected, wish for no person to see me around. Time of sight, hear my plea, listen to my wish, grant it to me. _

 

Renjun disappeared from everyone's sight, but nobody noticed him in the first place. He slowly crept over to the officers, silent. He was glad that he hadn't chosen to put his multiple keychains on his bag that morning, as the spell would have shattered in seconds. Renjun stepped through the police tape, wincing as he rustled one of them. He hurried to the stairs, taking them two at a time. As he ran, he heard an officer ask his partners if they had heard something. When he didn't hear footsteps following him, he sighed, lowering the spell. He paused on the fourth floor, opening his sixth sense, allowing him to detect magic. When the source felt higher, he walked up the steps slowly. Once on the fifth floor, he had to cover his nose to keep from breathing in the magic. He honestly hadn't expected finding them to be this easy, but the magic left a physical trail. There was a sharp line where the fog was thicker, blacker and way more potent. Renjun walked forward, avoiding directly touching the trail. He followed it to a bathroom, stopping outside.

 

The smell of the magic he sensed was full of accidents. Like someone wanted to cast a spell but really messed up. Like it was staged.

 

Renjun pressed on, opening the bathroom door. Inside the bathroom was a mess. And in the center of it, by the wall, was a boy. He was someone Renjun recognized, but not well enough to know his name. Surrounding the boy was every bit of magic that plagued the school. He stepped forward, pulling the boy's attention to him. There were tears streaming down his face, eyes red.

 

"W-wait! Don't come near me! I'm dangerous!" The boy sank further into the wall, both literally and figuratively. Renjun pressed on, ignoring the boy's protests. When he got close enough, he summoned his pocket watch. It was silver with fancy detailing on the front and Renjun's name inside. He held it up in front of himself and took a deep breath in. He exhaled and locked eyes with the boy.

 

"Time of darkness, hear my plea!"

 

The pocket watch turned black and Renjun heard the boy gasp. Renjun spared a glance at him. He wasn't crying anymore but there was still darkness spilling from his body.

 

"Leave this area, leave this boy, and freeze!" The darkness from everywhere, the halls, around the boy, the bathroom, all of it pulled into an itty bitty ball before their eyes. It froze for a moment before slowly expanding, the pocket simultaneously beginning its shift back to silver.

 

"Repeat after me!" The boy on the ground nodded, rising from the ground. He positioned his hands in front of the ball, gaze unsure.

 

"Darkness which escaped from me, hear my cry and hear my plea!" Renjun listened as the boy repeated it with little to no conviction.

 

"You must disappear, you must disperse, but leave my world without a burst!" The boy repeated the phrase with a heavier gaze, hands steady. His palms glow a bright purple and a tarot card appears on the ground below them, devoid of writing.

 

"Beware, begone, darkness will not hang on! I will you away with all my might!" Renjun is almost out of time, the pocket having reached a light gray. But luckily, this boy seems to waste not time. There's a purple aura surrounding him, hair floating slightly. His face is set as seriously as a child's can be.

 

"To this world, I will bring light!"

 

The tarot card below them grows in an instant and the ball of darkness flies into the air before slamming down into the card, which shrinks back to its regular size. They stare for a moment before the boy bends over and picks the card up, slipping it into his pocket. Renjun hadn't noticed before, but the boy has a tattoo on the back of his hand. A ring of the four symbols for forbidden magic. A club, a white canary, a puppet and a tarot card.

 

"So, mysterious boy who I found on the abandoned fifth floor of my elementary school," Renjun pauses, making a face. "What's the card say? Who are you?"

 

"Oh! My name is Donghyuck!" The boy smiles, a beam of light. It seems to get lighter in the bathroom the moment he smiles, like he lit up the world. "The card says 'The Dark' which I feel is fitting. It was really dark."

 

"My name is Renjun. I'm a magical boy, hereditary. You?"

 

"I'm a tarot witch, also hereditary. I specialize in tarot card readings, hate potions, and teleportation!"

 

Renjun nods, opening his mouth to say something but he's cut off by the sound of footfall outside of the bathroom.

 

"I'm sure I heard something up here!"

 

_ Oh no. _

 

Renjun forgot about the guards. And he couldn't cast another spell until his energy recharged. They were going to get caught!

 

"Get behind me!" Renjun stepped behind Donghyuck, confused. He watched as he pulled out a card titled  _ The Shadow _ and held it in front of him. He shook the card until a blob of shadow fell out. He pulled it over the two of them, pushing them against the wall.

 

"Stay quiet."

 

Renjun listened as the officers entered, shining flashlights on every nook and cranny. They spoke for a moment before leaving, allowing Donghyuck to drop the shadow and place it back into the card. He turned to Renjun, smiling.

 

"We should get to class. Who's your teacher?"

 

"Mr.Seo! He's really nice, so I'm glad I got him as my teacher." Renjun watched Donghyuck perk up and decides he likes when Donghyuck smiles.

 

"I have Mr.Seo too! Wow, is this fate? Wait, I would know if it were. Do you have any other friends in that class?"

 

"Yeah. Jeno and Jaemin! They'll like you! Jaemin likes everyone!"

 

Donghyuck and Renjun made their way to the first floor, darting past the guards, giggling. They walked the rest of the way to Mr.Seo's class, chatting animatedly. When they walked in, Renjun looked around before he locked eyes with Jeno and Jaemin, who both sprang up and ran to Renjun, throwing their arms around him.

 

"Where were you?!" jaemin had started crying, tears soaking into Renjun's shirt. "I thought you were gonna meet us here so we could talk to Mr.Seo. Where were you?" Jaemin pulled away from Renjun's body, frowning through his tears.

 

"I was helping Donghyuck."

 

At the mention of said boy, Jaemin and Jeno's eyes snapped over to look at him. Jeno narrowed his eyes at him while Jaemin looked him up and down before both started grinning.

 

"What year were you born," Jeno asked, sounding the most excited he had sounded since he was ranting about cats last week.

 

"2000!" Donghyuck smiled just as bright as he did in the bathroom earlier, perhaps even brighter.

 

Jaemin grabbed Renjun and Jeno's hands, instructing Jeno to hold Donghyuck's hand. Renjun tensed up when he thought of Donghyuck's tattoos, but the only thing on the back of his hand was a bunch of moles. 

 

"Let's get to our seats. Mr.Seo is gonna start class soon! Then, we can all eat together at lunch!" Jaemin ran back to his seat, sitting down before gesturing them over. They all scurried into their seats, Donghyuck and Renjun finding themselves separated by Jeno sitting next to Jaemin. So Donghyuck was forced to sit next to Jeno while Renjun sat on the other side of Jaemin, but it wasn't a problem. 

 

Donghyuck had a good feeling about this.

* * *

 

Jaemin walked alone in the hallway, holding a stack of papers to his chest. He had volunteered to run an errand for Mr.Seo but he was kinda regretting it. There were older kids littering the halls, and while that usually wouldn't be a problem, it was during class. And they weren't in class. See what's happening here? Troublemakers.

 

They watched Jaemin with hawk vision, zeroing in on his face, on his puffy face and his buck teeth. He could feel the mockery coming. He knew he wasn't the most adorable of children, unlike Donghyuck, he wasn't strong like Jeno, he wasn't brave like Renjun. He wasn't much.

 

With how lost in thought Jaemin had gotten, it wasn't a shock to him when he ran into an older kid.

 

Jaemin's head snapped up, meeting the eyes of one Kang Daniel.

 

_ Son of a  _ **_bitch_ ** _. _

 

Kang Daniel was an 8th grader, and he was fucking rude to pretty much every underclassman. And Jaemin just had to run into him.

 

"Hey, watch it, idiot. You fucking freak." Daniel's eyes are like pools of fire, burning down everything in his path.

 

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" Jaemin cowered backwards, pulling the stack of papers closer to his chest. Daniel pressed closer, an amused smirk appearing on his face.

 

"Oh, what a wimp you are. An ugly one too. I could probably beat your ass right now and make sure nobody does anything about it. Will I, that is the question we're asking."

 

"Please leave me alone!" Jaemin stepped backwards, his back hitting lockers. "Why are you so terrible to everyone all the time? You're just a bit older than me. Do you have a complex?"

 

Oh my  _ god _ , Jaemin. Can you ever shut up?! You're dead. Dead! Second track from My Chemical Romance's most known album 'The Black Parade'! You're done! Fucking  _ idiot _ .

 

"What the hell did you just say to me," Daniel seethed. He was hissing, like a snake, eyes seeming to look like a snake's as well. Was he smoking? What was happening to Kang Daniel right now? He almost seemed to resemble-

 

"Daniel!"

 

Daniel turned to face the voice, eye widening. There stood his older sister, the one and only, Kang Seulgi.

 

"Seulgi,  _ what do you want _ ?" The hall was empty now, the presence of the Kang siblings too overwhelming to handle. The only people left were Jaemin, the siblings, and one of Seulgi's friends. Jaemin was rooted to his spot with fear, staring as Seulgi whispered to Daniel and he rushed off, muttering curse words under his voice. Jaemin watched him go, snapping back to attention when Seulgi cleared her throat. To say he was intimidated was an understatement. Seulgi was scary. She had bright eyes, sharp features and always smelled like she was about to ground you. She was a mother, and Jaemin was scared of that.

 

"So, run along, okay? I find you pretty cool, so I want you to live. My brother is still pissed, but if you leave now, you can probably avoid him. So? Go." The tone of Seulgi's voice was final, and Jaemin had never run so fast in his life.

 

But back there, what happened to Daniel?

 

_ Dragon. _

 

Jaemin didn't even stop, the voice familiar to him. It whispered things to him in a tone he knew meant it was true. Are the Kang siblings really dragons?

 

_ Yes. Daniel is a fire oriented dragon while Seulgi is water oriented. _

 

Then it is the truth.

* * *

 

Jeno sat between Renjun and Donghyuck as they chattered over him, leaving him out completely. He looked at Renjun while he laughed, his eyes closed. He knew he was probably paranoid, but something was off about Renjun  _ and _ Donghyuck. He looked harder, staring at Renjun's face. Flashes came to his mind, but nothing solid. He leaned in close, finally seeing something. There! There was someone-

 

"Jeno?"

 

Jeno startled so hard that he fell backwards, knocking over his chair in the process. He looked up at Renjun and Donghyuck's faces, confused. What was he seeing? People don't  _ fly. _

 

He knew that.

 

Jeno pushed himself up, waving off Donghyuck and Renjun's hands. He watched as the two shared a look of concern, but there were unsaid words between them. Jeno watched as they both grimaced, and he got another flash. This time, however, it was a series of flashes.

 

_ A card. A boy with blue hair. A radio. A planet. A light surrounding Renjun. Words falling from his lips. He leaps into the sky.  _

 

Jeno sees these things play out in front of him, but every time he tries to recall it to mind, it fades. everything but one flash.

 

_ A girl with large hair encased in a cloud of darkness, a raging sight to human life. _

 

"Hey!"

 

Jeno shook his head, looking over to Renjun with a smile.

 

"So, where's Jaemin?"

 

At that sentence, the door opened, Jaemin standing there, paperless. He looked a little disgruntled, and he locked eyes with Jeno. Jeno understood that look.

 

_ The two of us need to talk. _

 

Jeno nodded, scooting over to make room for Jaemin, who sat next to him.

 

"Lunch," Jaemin asked quietly.

 

"Lunch."

 

And it was done.

* * *

 

The instant the bell for lunch rang, Jeno and Jaemin sprang out of their chairs, startling Renjun and Donghyuck.

 

"We have to go!" Jaemin and Jeno ran out of the room, away from prying ears and eyes. They ran all the way to the garden, dropping to their knees when they arrived. They sat across from each other, faces serious.

 

"I'll go first." Jaemin took a deep breath, steeling himself. He knew Jeno might not believe him, but he knew he was right.

 

"Kang Seulgi and Kang Daniel are dragons. Seulgi is a water dragon and Daniel is a fire dragon. I have reason to be believe that there are other magical creatures in attendance at school." Jaemin waited for Jeno to mock him or laugh at him, but instead, Jeno sighed in relief.

 

"Thank god! I knew I wasn't crazy." Jeno looked at Jaemin, delivering his signature eye smile before it fell. "I think Renjunnie and Donghyuck are hiding something big from us."

 

They sat in silence for a moment before Jaemin spoke up.

 

"I have a voice that tells me things about people and places and it never lies." Jeno's eyes went wide, blinking at Jaemin rapidly. He looked away, face scrunched up. he contemplated for a second before turning to Jaemin again with a gentle smile.

 

"I see visions and flashes of people's past, presents and futures. I can't recall the flashes after I've seen them most of the time, but I remember after about an hour." He looks around for a second before scooting closer to Jaemin. "Earlier, I saw flashes regarding Renjun and Donghyuck, along with a mysterious girl."

 

"Seriously? What did you see?"

 

Jeno closed his eyes, focusing.

 

"A card. A boy with blue hair. A radio. A planet. Bright light surrounding Renjun. He's saying something important and his eyes are bright blue. He leaps into the sky. A girl with large hair encased in a cloud of darkness, and I see three floating figures. Renjun and two others."

 

Jeno opens his eyes, looking at Jaemin with confusion and fear in his eyes.

 

"Jaem, just what  _ is _ Renjun? What are  _ we _ ?"

 

Jaemin pulled Jeno into a hug, holding his head to his chest. He pet Jeno's head tenderly, listening to Jeno cry softly.

 

"I don't know, Jeno. I don't know."

 


	2. past the blue night and dawn until all of me is forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lunch happens and we get a tasty little bit at the end
> 
> title of chapter from magic girl by baek a yeon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is pretty jam packed full of stuff. a few curse words, but nothing too extreme!
> 
> no entry of light this chapter, unless you count the end bit! but the end bit is easily decoded.

Jaemin and Jeno came up with a plan. A very risky plan that could potentially end with them dead, but they needed to test their abilities out. So what if the Kang siblings could kill them easily and this could end very poorly for everyone involved?

 

No big deal.

 

The plan was as such.

 

Jaemin and Jeno would corner Daniel and Seulgi. The plan for that was that Jeno would talk to Daniel and Jaemin would talk to Seulgi. Then, they would lead each of them to the garden. There, they would begin to question them. Hopefully they didn't die and get erased from everyone's memory or something like that.

 

And so the plan commenced.

Jaemin walked up to Seulgi, holding his breath. He was nervous, and he felt like Seulgi could tell. He put on his most innocent voice he could, and tapped her shoulder. She turned around, meeting his eye.

 

"Noona! Um, I need your help. You're good with flowers, right?" Seulgi nodded, confused. She could probably tell something was off.

 

"Good! There's a flower in the garden that I need help with. I'm not sure what to do about it," Jaemin said, looking at the ground as if he were sad. There _weren't_ any dying flowers in the garden. He made sure of that.

 

"Oh no! Can you show it to me? I'll do what I can." Seulgi followed Jaemin as he began walking, making soft conversation. He had to trust that Jeno was doing his part of the plan.

* * *

 

"Okay, so. Let me get this straight. You want me to kill a spider you saw in the garden?" Jeno nodded at Daniel, who continued to look at him skeptically.

 

"It was big and scary and I'm not good with spiders. Can you please come kill it, hyung?" Jeno was so sure that Daniel would say no, so sure that he would be shot down.

 

"Sure, I guess. You're a cool kid and I don't like seeing you scared."

 

Nevermind then.

 

Jeno began leading Daniel to the garden, sure that Jaemin has started his part already.

 

And Jeno was correct.

 

When Jeno and Daniel arrived at the garden, Jaemin and Seulgi were already there. Seulgi stood with her back to them, talking to Jaemin, who locked eyes with Jeno.

 

"Wait. What's my sister doing here?" At Daniel's voice, Seulgi turned. She and Daniel looked around before locking eyes again. The jig was up, they knew that Jeno and Jaemin were up to something.

 

"What do you want from us?" Seulgi's voice is harsh, grating on Jeno's self esteem.

 

"Well, we uh, geez. We wanted to ask-"

 

"We know you're dragons." Jaemin cuts off Jeno's stammering. Jeno looks at him with wide eyes, shocked that Jaemin was so bold just then. His eyes shot to look at Daniel, who had tensed up when Jaemin spoke, and then they flashed to Seulgi, who stood calm, but her eyes hardened.

 

"Excuse me, but I don't like baseless accusations. Now, if you would excuse me, my brother and I have to go."

 

She started walking away with Daniel in tow, but Jeno ran in front of them, cutting them off. He held his arms out to either side, trying to stop them.

 

"I know you're dragons! Seulgi, you-!"

 

Jeno cuts off as he gets a vision. Not flashes, but a _vision._

 

_Seulgi is but a child when she first summons her dragon form. Her younger brother Daniel was amazed. She was still small, but she was blue, black and silver. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green. She laughed and laughed and laughed._

 

"You first transformed into a dragon seven years ago. You had eyes of emerald green and you were small. Daniel was there, watching in awe." Jeno's words brought different emotions to everyone's faces. Confusion to Jaemin's, shock and horror to Daniel's and fear to Seulgi's.

 

Seulgi stumbled backwards, away from Jeno. She looked around, locking eyes with Jaemin. She looked back to Jeno, holding Daniel behind her.

 

"How the fuck did you know that?" Seulgi's voice shook, her fear evident.

 

"That's not important. What _is_ important is that Jaemin and I know that you and Daniel are dragons," Jeno says impatiently. He watches as Daniel grabs his sister's hand, speaking to her in a hushed tone. When they split, they kneel in front of Jeno and Jaemin, who had walked to Jeno's side. They look at the ground, faces flush. Dragons are prideful beings, and kneeling hurts their pride.

 

"What do you want from us? Money? Bodyguards?" They look up at the two boys, their eyes snakelike again.

 

"What?" Jaemin sputters out. He looks almost offended. "We just wanted your help with something."

 

Seulgi makes a noise of confusion while Daniel leans back on his hands, quirking an eyebrow. "Help? With what?"

 

"Dragons are known for being great at awakening magical abilities and such." Jaemin paused, waiting for Seulgi and Daniel to realize. He ignored Jeno's 'where did you learn that' and opted to stare at the two dragons in front of him.

 

"What magical abilities do you have? I can't sense any magic in your veins." Daniel sniffs the air as he speaks, but he doesn't find anything.

 

"Daniel. I think they have _chosen_ blood." Seulgi sounds amazed, like Jaemin and Jeno were special. The two boys in question watched as Daniel freaked out for a second before looking Jaemin deep in the eyes.

 

"How did you know we're dragons? How did you find out?"

 

Jaemin shuffles his feet a little, the attention making him anxious. "A voice told me. It tells me lots of things. Always the truth."

 

"And, what, exactly, prompts it to tell you these things," Seulgi asks. She and Daniel have settled on the ground, so Jeno and Jaemin sit across from them, criss cross applesauce, just like they were taught.

 

"I usually ask a question about something and it might tell me? I can't control it. That's why we need your help. We want to be able to control and know these abilities. I don't wanna be scared of myself. Do I have to be scared of myself?" Jaemin sounds close to tears and Jeno wraps his arms around him, hugging him close. Seulgi and Daniel scoot closer, each putting an arm over their shoulders.

 

"Not anymore. We're here and we're going to help you. You're safe."

 

They stay like that for the remainder of lunch. They look like a family of sorts.

* * *

 

Renjun and Donghyuck had watched Jeno and Jaemin run off at the start of lunch, bewildered. They had planned on eating together and sitting in the garden, talking until they had to return to class.

 

"Uh, do you want to go to the garden anyways? Or, should we like, go onto the roof?" Donghyuck turned to Renjun, eyebrows furrowed slightly.

 

"I guess we should go to the roof? We can practice there!" Donghyuck's face lit up at Renjun's words. He pulled Renjun up by his hand and ran out the door.

 

"Donghyuck! Sl-slow down!" Renjun wasn't used to running this fast, not even a little.

 

Donghyuck didn't listen. He ran down a deserted hallway and pulled out a card from his pocket. _The Mirror_. He threw it in front of them, and out popped a mirror.

 

"Mirror of the cards, transfer us to our destination!" They ran right for the mirror, and panic seized Renjun. He knew about teleportation by mirror, but that was an advanced skill. Could Donghyuck pull this off?

 

"Donghyuck, are you sure about th-" Renjun was cut off as they shattered through the mirror. They emerged on the other side, landing on the rooftop, glass shards falling around them. For a brief moment, all is still. Then, like a flash of pain in a fanfiction bully's eyes, the shards are gone of back to where they came from. Renjun and Donghyuck are still holding hands, steadying each other.

 

"Donghyuck...that was…" Renjun notices how Donghyuck is tense, and he has a sort of aura surrounding him. Like he feels danger in the air. Renjun can't see past Donghyuck because of him height, but he knows the air of the roof easy enough to know when something is seriously _wrong._

 

"Renjun." Donghyuck's voice is quiet, like a secret being shared between two friends. "There is a creature here. It's around your height and it's got a nasty aura. What do we do?"

 

Renjun couldn't believe his ears. A _creature?_ On the rooftop. And it was around his height? He had no clue what this thing could be. He thought for a moment but was pulled out of his thought by a high pitched noise coming from what Renjun could only assume was the creature. Wait. That noise. It sounded like a…

 

"Get behind me!" Renjun pushed Donghyuck behind him and lifted his pocket watch into the air. Just as he thought, there it was. A yellow hellbeast. He knew they were dangerous, but he needed to do this.

 

"Transferantur ad infernum unde venistis!" A light shone from his pocket watch, encasing Renjun's arm. "Adolebitque tu malam, irrumabo!" Renjun watched the hellbeast run towards him, swift as winter wind. But he was no match for the strongest spell Renjun knew, right?

 

Not really.

 

The light fired at the hellbeast, blasting it back to the edge of the roof, causing it to dangle, taunting with the way it swayed back and forth. yet, it pulled itself up, causing Renjun to panic. He didn't know what to do now. Hellbeasts were dangerous, not a child's work.

 

"Renjun!" Renjun turned to face Donghyuck in a hurry, expression written in a pattern of panic. "What if we combine our power? If my theory is correct, then the both of us can achieve our task, together. What do you say?" Donghyuck held out both of his hands, waiting for Renjun to grab them. Should he risk it? Was this wise?

 

_What would Kun do?_

 

Renjun grabbed Donghyuck's hands firmly, nodding.

 

"Let's do it."

 

They turned so that they could both see the hellbeast from their peripherals. They looked each other in the eye, steady. In that moment, they didn't feel like mere children. No, they felt like they were saving the world. They felt like adults.

 

Renjun and Donghyuck focused on one another. Donghyuck focused the power of the cards while Renjun focused the power of time. Together, they pulled together the most power they could. As they did, they changed.

 

Renjun's hair grew in length, just enough for it to be put into a sharp bun style, if you will. His clothes changed from his casual shorts and a shirt to an elaborate blue shirt with sheer sleeves, accompanied by pants that reached just past his knees with the same design and color as the shirt. His shoes became low heeled shoes, also with the same pattern and color as the shirt and pants. Around his right ankle was a jade anklet, beautiful and shining. an apron appeared to complete the outfit, accompanied by a red belt made of a thin material with his pocket watch hanging from it.

 

Donghyuck, on the other hand, his hair grew long, long, long. It braided itself in that moment, shifting to a honey color instead of black. Instead of gaining a new set of pants and a shirt, Donghyuck got a dress. Not shocking, as tarot witches are female 99.9% of the time. The dress was a reddish brown, with minimal patterns. The bodice was almost like a tight fitting apron, with a white shirt beneath it. The shirt had incredibly poofy sleeves and were a very slight off white with rose detailing. The bodice of the apron dress had yellow ribbon to tie it together, neat and orderly. Atop Donghyuck's head was a headband the same reddish brown as the dress with a white rose and red rose surrounded by smaller, lesser flowers. He wore tights, off white and ribbed. His shoes were shiny and were a hot chocolate brown, with a little yellow bow at the top of each of them. all of it was topped off with a necklace, brown string with a white rose and mistletoe hanging off of the ends.

 

When the changes stopped, Renjun and Donghyuck both opened their eyes. They looked shocked to see the other look the way they did, changed and different. Yet they continued to hold hands, energy channeled.

 

"Is this our power? Did we transform?" Donghyuck's questions are rhetorical, he knew they had transformed. He was just shocked.

 

"Huh. I feel, stronger, somehow." Renjun trailed off, thinking. He perked up after a moment, and grinned. "Donghyuck, we need weapons or something! Grab a card with your right hand and I'll grab my watch with my left hand. I think that's what we need." Donghyuck nodded and the two slowly unlinked their hands, a barrier appearing around them. The hellbeast pounded against it, desperate. It created cracks easily, the weak magic not much against a hellbeast. Donghyuck held a blank card in his hand while Renjun held his pocket watch in his. They focused, pushing their energy to the limits.

 

"Repeat after me. It's short, but it's in Latin." Donghyuck nodded, ready.

 

"Ut deferat illud ad nos, in industria. Ut deferat illud ad nos, et virtutem." Donghyuck waited until Renjun finished speaking before repeating the phrase quickly. His memory and pronunciation were excellent, almost like he knew Latin.

 

Behind the boys appeared unique magic circles. Behind Renjun was a ring of white swirls with blue lights floating within. The whole circle was spinning slowly, hypnotic. Behind Donghyuck was a ring of darkness, a black hole full of stars and cards. It pulsed, heavy and full of untapped power.

 

With the circles in place, they fired. From Renjun's circle came blue, while purple came from Donghyuck's. It swirled together and fired at the hellbeast face on right as it broke the barrier. There was a flash of yellow and a burst of black smoke and then the light cleared. Sitting where the hellbeast used to be were seven bracelets, each with a name and a charm. Each bracelet had white beads and white blocks with letters printed on them.

 

There was Donghyuck's, with a card charm. Renjun's, with a clock charm. There was one for Jeno with a glowing eye charm and then there was Jaemin's with a charm of a miniature version of Van Gogh's Starry Night. There were three other bracelets, each already decorated. One went to a Mark and it had a four leaf clover charm on it, along with a charm of a pentagram. Then, there was the one for Chenle, which had a water drop, bird, flag _and_ butterfly charm. The final one was for a Jisung and it had a radio, meteor, star and microphone charm.

 

Who were Mark, Chenle and Jisung? Why did Renjun and Donghyuck get bracelets with their names on them? Why was anything happening the way it was?

 

But at least it's over.

 

(Unbeknownst to Renjun and Donghyuck, two dragons picked up on a surge of magic and reported it to their two new partners.)

* * *

 

When lunch ended, Renjun and Donghyuck made their way back to class, having transformed back into their normal selves. Donghyuck and Renjun wore their bracelets and carried the rest in their pockets. They would keep the unknown people's until they met. It was bound to happen.

 

When Donghyuck and Renjun arrived to their classroom, Jaemin and Jeno were already there. But they weren't alone. Beside them sat the Kang siblings, who look visibly uncomfortable because of the class they were in. It was far too bright and far too cramped. Dragons don't like to be closed in unless it's in a nice dark cave.

 

"...and that is why the teletubbies were probably the most important things in history and were most likely magical creatures you could only summon in the dead of night. I told this to Jeno and Renju-hey!" Jaemin finished up his rant about the teletubbies, _again_ , but when he noticed Renjun and Donghyuck in the doorway, he cut off, grinning and waving them over. The two boys complied, albeit a little hesitantly. Why were Jeno and Jaemin with Kang Daniel and Kang Seulgi, the two most intimidating people in school?

 

"Hey, Jaem. Hey, Jeno. Hi, Daniel and Seulgi. What's going on right now in the world to make you all be sitting together?" Renjun wasn't exactly sure why, but he felt like he was being scrutinized. Like he was being judged by some God.

 

"Daniel and Jaem had a run in with each other earlier and Seulgi and I bonded over flowers and cats. Did you know that Daniel and Seulgi are deeply in love with fantasy and both of them like flowers?" Jeno smiled the entire time he explained, lying straight through his teeth. It's not like Renjun or Donghyuck suspected him though. Jeno knew how to lie.

 

"Uh, no. I didn't." Renjun replied, sitting down next to Jeno. Donghyuck sat next to Renjun quietly, watching the Kang siblings. Daniel stared back at him and they held eye contact for a moment before Donghyuck broke it. What was this powerful aura surrounding those two? What was up with the universe today? Strange things happened left and right. A hellbeast, he and Renjun transformed, the bracelets, and now this!

 

"Oh, right!" Donghyuck pulled two bracelets out of his pocket, one for each of the boys on the opposite end of the table. "Here! Renjun and I made them during lunch." he handed them off to Jeno, who handed Jaemin his. Jaemin let out noises of amazement and he quickly slipped it onto his wrist, smiling. Jeno looked at his with a blank stare before he blinked and his eyes regained focus. He smiled at Renjun and Jaemin, eyes disappearing with how wide his grin was. But something was off.

 

"Gosh, you must have gone through some kinda of _hellbeast_ to make these!" Renjun and Donghyuck flinched slightly, blanching. What the hell.

 

"What do you mean by that," Donghyuck asked nervously. He laughed a little, eyes darting to the sides before looking at Jeno again.

 

"Oh, just that they're so well made that you must have had to go through hell to make them. This _all seeing eye_ is a nice touch! Oh, Donghyuck, is that a tarot card? Cool! Renjun, is that a clock? It really _suits you_ ." What the _hell_.

 

"Yeah. I thought that all seeing eye would be nice, but I didn't have a charm for it exactly, so I just used an eye." Renjun spoke slowly, just a little scared. How did Jeno know that that was supposed to be an all seeing eye? How did he know about the hellbeast?

 

"Cool!" Jeno turned back to the front of the room, slipping his bracelet onto his wrist. It was silent in their group for a moment, the silence only broken by someone clearing their throat. Everyone looked over, seeing Mr.Seo or Johnny Seo, the teacher of the class.

 

"Mr and Miss Kang. Would you be so kind as to go to class? I can write a pass, so long as you promise to actually go to class." He was tall. Really tall.

 

"Yeah, totally. Thanks, Johnny." Seulgi stood up first, brushing off her skirt. She pulled up her brother and they went to get a pass from the teacher. It was strange. They looked like normal teens in that moment. But two kids in that class knew that they were dragons, and that changed everything.

 

_Everything._

 

They students watch the siblings leave in silence and stayed silent until Johnny started the lesson.

 

"So, class. How was your lunch? Can we get a volunteer? Oh, yes! Ryan?"

 

They listen to Ryan recount her lunch, and it seems like she has a lot going on. She'll go places. All of her friends, Giana, Aria and Luan all recount their lunches too, and even though they're friends, it seems like they all have different personalities. Ryan is sassy, Giana is loud and rambunctious, Aria is quiet and shy and Luan is awkward and friendly. They're kinda like Donghyuck, Jaemin, Renjun and Jeno. All so different.

 

Yet together.

 

Is this what being friends is? Coming together despite your differences? How different can you be before you just don't work out as friends?

* * *

 

_"Song Title: Ern, reporting from location."_

 

_"$t@t3 y0ur 10c@ti0n."_

 

_"Location: Earth. Reporting on: Project Black Swan Encore."_

 

_"$t@t3 pr0gr3$$ r3p0rt."_

 

_"Subject; Lee Donghyuck. State: Light removed. Complication: Magical Boy came to save him."_

 

_"N@m3."_

 

_"Name and Title: Magical Boy Huang Renjun."_

 

_"Id3nt1ty c0nf1rm3d. N3w mi$$10n…"_

 

_"Composer?"_

 

_"C0m3 h0m3, 3rn."_

 

_"Absolute. Decrescendo."_

 

_"A113gr0."_

 

**_Connection Ended. Would you like to call the Meter?_ **

 

_"Call Meter. I must speak to Beethoven. Prestissimo."_

 

**_Calling Meter. Set Destination?_ **

 

 _"Destination:_ **_Jisung's House._ ** _"_

 

**_Destination Confirmed._ **

 

_"Absolute. Coda."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that last bit is probably my favorite part! what do you think is happening? what is with the voice? what is "Song Title Ern" and what is it doing with Donghyuck and Renjun?


	3. I'm the child of the ugly star, crescent moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which we get snapshots into everyone's lives, and five new characters are introduced
> 
> also i like burmese, don't you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jeno isn't...in this chapter...at all. he'll be in the next one, obviously, but i just could NOT write for him this time around
> 
> title of chapter taken from mikazuki by sayuri

The days passed without much incident for Renjun. He ate lunch with his friends on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, Jeno and Jaemin went with Daniel and Seulgi on Tuesdays and Fridays while he and Donghyuck practiced, he somehow ended up teaching himself how to summon a very small familiar.

 

Nothing too big happened for about two weeks. Life was blank and boring.

 

And then, on Saturday, life grew colorful again.

 

Renjun was laying in his bed, reading over spells. He was engrossed in the book, lapping up the magic eagerly. Learning spells had always been something he loved, feeling the power flow through him as he spoke words to create gorgeous results was nothing short of a personal heaven. He was only nine, but he was advanced past his days when it came to magic. He received praise a lot, getting told that he would be a good candidate for Ambassador of Magic, the head position among magical boys and girls. The current Ambassador of Magic was Renjun's older brother, Qian Kun. Kun was a rock of pure talent and hard work. He was Renjun's inspiration in life.

 

_ If I can be like him, I know I'll be happy! Who wouldn't want to be something as great as Ambassador? _

 

Renjun was pulled out of his thoughts by three knocks as his door, short and curt. He set his book down, confused.

 

"Uh, come in." The door opened to reveal a face Renjun hadn't seen in over a year.

 

"Xuxi!" Renjun sits up, watching his cousin's face come into view. But, as the door opens more, four more faces come into focus.

 

"Kun!" His voice is bright and his eyes full of stars. At the sight of his brother, his body lifted off the bed, the hereditary flight abilities going crazy with his excitement. He floated over to Kun, smiling. When he landed, he gathered his brother into a hug, jumping up and down.

 

"What!" Renjun heard the yell from behind Kun and stopped his jumping long enough to look behind Kun's body. There stood his other three cousins, the newest editions to his clan. Xiaojun, Hendrey and Yangyang, the three boys that had been separated from the family for political reasons for a bit, but they loved Renjun and Xuxi and Kun all the same. They were technically not magical boys, but demigods. Each of the big three, like a bunch of nerds.

 

"Xiaojun, Hendery, Yangyang! I haven't seen you guys in months!" Renjun pulled the rest of his family into a hug, happiness enveloping him. He felt everyone wrap their arms around him, laughing and saying how much they missed him. He could feel the positive energy radiating off of everyone, the love.

 

"I missed you, 小弟弟. Have you been well? I want to know what's happened while we were gone." Kun spoke softly, breaking the silence gently.

 

Renjun pulled out of the hug, smiling. He gestured for everyone to sit on his bed, excited to tell about everything that had happened in the past two weeks alone.

 

"Well, you guys know my friends Jeno and Jaemin?" Xiaojun shakes his head for a moment but nods when Hendery shoots him a glare. "We made a new friend! His name is Lee Donghyuck! He's a witch!"

 

"Cool. What kind of witch is he?" Xuxi is quiet, because he knows that Renjun prefers quiet in his room.

 

"Uh, see. That's...I'm not sure I should tell you." Rejun glances down at his lap and then glances back up to Kun, who was already looking at him, causing their gazes to meet for a moment before Renjun looked down again.

 

"Oh. Is it because I'm the Ambassador of Magic? Would he get in trouble?" Kun sounds  _ hurt _ , like he can't believe Renjun would hide something from him.

 

"Can  _ we _ know? I mean, we're demigods, so we don't belong to the Counsel of Magic. Like, we can know,  _ right? _ " 

 

"No,  _ Yangyang _ , we're not allowed to know! We  _ do _ belong to the Counsel because we're terrible with our powers! The three of us are not special!"

 

"Don't yell at him,  _ Dejun. _ You may be the son of Zeus but you have the temper of Hades!"

 

"Shut it,  _ Hendry. _ " Hendery gasped in offense, and his scowled deeped as Yangyang continued. "What's wrong with Hades, huh? You calling my dad a hothead? Are you saying that he's bad? Fuck you, fish boy!"

 

"Fish boy?! Don't you dare call me that, Prince of the Under _ wear _ !"

 

"Guys, you need to stop! You're acting like toddlers-"

 

" **Stay out of this!** " Hendery and Yangyang yelled at Xiaojun, getting in his face.

 

"You think you're all that cause your dad rules Olympus, huh?! Well, guess what! You aren't! You aren't any more special than Hendery or I!"

 

Xiaojun sat up straight, skin sparking. Yangyang's hair was on fire and he let off a dark aura while Hendery smelled of ocean spray and dripped water. Hendery opened his mouth to let out another insult but was cut off by Kun.

 

" _ Boys. _ " All three boys snapped to face Kun, glaring. The glares quickly gave way to fear, as Kun had a very,  _ very _ stern look on his face.

 

"Living room.  _ Now. _ " Xiaojun jumped of the bed, scrambling to get away. The air felt less electric and harsh as soon as he left. Yangyang faded into the shadows, taking his aura and heat with him. As Hendery slid off the bed, the wet spot dried as fast as lightning and any wet footprints disappeared as soon as he lifted his feet. When all three left the room, everybody relaxed.

 

"I'm sorry about them, Renjun. I know you prefer quiet in your room. It's just," Kun lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his hair, exasperated. Xuxi places his hand on his shoulder and Kun leans into it, sending a grateful smile his way. "We need a tarot witch to help us with them. Tarot witches are known for their emotional magic and the  _ impeccable _ control they have over it. But, sadly, the last tarot witch that we knew of went into hiding and apparently, she has covered her trail extremely well. Even our most advanced location spells can't find her."

 

"Wait. You guys need a tarot witch?" Renjun sounds almost hopeful, like this is great.

 

"Yeah! It doesn't matter the level of their magic, but it would be  _ fantastic _ if it were the lady we were looking for." Xuxi incorporates an English word into his sentence, showing off his amazing skills. A multilingual king.

 

"You know Donghyuck?" Kun nods along with Xuxi, gentle frowns on their faces.

 

"Your new friend, yeah?"

 

"Right. Well, he's a tarot witch! Maybe he can help you! He's a hereditary witch, so his mom might be your best bet. I can ask him, if you want."

 

Kun perks up when he hears that Donghyuck is a tarot witch. He could understand why Renjun didn't want to tell him about Donghyuck, as tarot witches are technically still outlawed in the magic world.

 

"That would be  _ wonderful _ . As the Ambassador of Magic, I can promise him and his mother safety from the law for as long as I am in power. They can come forth as tarot witches." Renjun beams at that, lighting up.

 

"Okay! Now, let me tell you about what has happened in the past two weeks."

 

Renjun updates Xuxi and Kun on his life, pausing to let them react when he says he took down a yellow hellbeast. He doesn't mention the transformation yet. He wants to have something for himself to enjoy. They congratulate him and he continues, talking about the bracelets he found.

 

"And see, that's how my first day of school went!" Kun and Xuxi's mouths drop open in shock.

 

"That was  _ one day _ ?!" Xuxi yells out, breaking Renjun's rule, albeit for a good reason. he just spent fifteen minutes going over these events, and it was  _ one day _ . Renjun would be shocked too if he hadn't lived through it. 

 

"Yeah! Over the past week and a half, me and Hyuckie have been training our magic, and I summoned a really small familiar!" Renjun is smiling gently, however, his happiness and enthusiasm are felt in large waves.

 

"Oh! I'm so proud! You know, I only summoned my first familiar at 12. You're already ahead of me!" Kun's laugh is hearty and full of mirth. He's a shimmering son of the sun, and Renjun and Xuxi can't help but join in with him in his happiness.

 

As they laughed upstairs, things were happening across town. Things that were pretty interesting.

* * *

 

Donghyuck had no idea how he got into this situation, but he wants out.

 

He was face to face with a member of the High Counsel, and they were holding a sheet of paper that basically said he and his mother were under protection from the Ambassador of Magic. Which he did not believe, not even for a singular second.

 

"I'm sorry, but I'm telling the truth!" The boy, yes,  _ boy _ , tries to convince him, but Donghyuck just is not having it! He slams the door in the boy's face, drawing the attention of his mother, who comes from the basement with curiousity in her eyes.

 

"Honey, who was at the door?" Her voice is like honey and her skin like the golden sky. Her eyes are lilac, power of stars coursing through her body. Her hair is a warm brown, cascading down her back in a straight waterfall of fluffy blankets.

 

"It was a member of the High Counsel. He said that the Ambassador of Magic placed us under his protection. i don't know why he would do that though, so I shut the door."

 

"There's a member of the High Counsel out there? How did they find us? I covered our trail so well." She mutters the last part, eyebrows scrunched. For a moment, all is still. Then the boy is knocking on the door and shouting for somebody to answer because he "has direct orders to not leave without the witch" or something.

 

"Let's see what the young man wants, eh?" She walks toward the door, heels of her feet hitting the ground and sprouting vines, a sign of nerves and anger. Maybe even fear. She pulls the door open, and the boy smiles.

 

"Ah! You're Lee Chaewon! Hi, I'm Hyunjin, a member of the High Counsel! I'm here with an official decree that you and your son are under protection from the Ambassador of Magic. We have located you because of the Ambassador's younger brother, Renjun-"

 

"Renjun sold us out," Donghyuck exclaimed. No way had Renjun told the Ambassador where they lived. Although, if Renjun trusted his older brother to not hurt them, maybe this was real. Maybe Donghyuck could stop hiding from his own people in fear of discovery.

 

"Honey, can Renjun and the Ambassador be trusted?" His mother turned to him, face relaxed but eyes tense.

 

"Yes. Yes! Renjun is my friend! So, if he can trust the Ambassador, so can we." Donghyuck smiles at the boy in front of him and his mother, noticing that he's around his age. He's adorable, but he's also one of the members of the High Counsel.

 

"Well, Hyunjin. You should be on your way. I can make my way to the Counsel House on my own, don't worry. You should hurry back to your home. You're apart of the new fleet of witches, right? Stray Kids." Hyunjin nods, starry eyed. "Then, run along." Hyunjin grins and then turns and runs away into the night before jumping into the air and sprouting wings.

 

"He's going to go far in his life. The stars tell me that." Donghyuck's mother turns to him, smiling. "I have to go. Whatever brought this up is probably of utmost importance, so I should leave now. Will you be okay alone?"

 

"Yeah, of course. I have enough friends to come over and keep me company if I get lonely." Donghyuck trails off, eyes watering. He sniffs then embraces his mother tight, feeling her warmth run through him.

 

"I will miss you, my sweet son." Donghyuck's mother is crying, something that doesn't happen quite so often.

 

It truly is a heavy night in the Lee household.

* * *

 

"That's cool and all, but why are we moving?"

 

"Oh, well. It's because of relocation within the magic realm. We have to go to Korea and meet up with the Headmaster of Magic, the Ambassador of Magic, the Junior Officer of Magic and then we need to talk about your powers."

 

"My powers? What about them?"

 

"They're not like other people's powers. You have two powers, at least, so far you do. Who knows, you could grow into the head of our clan."

 

"Nah, not gonna happen."

 

"Well, whether or not you believe in yourself is up to you. I think you can do it. But, anyways. With your powers of luck and your affinity for spells, I think us moving is good. There, we can find a teacher for you."

 

"Why can't you be my teacher? You've been doing great so far."

 

"Oh, honey. I'm just...not made to teach about luck. I'm a  _ bad luck _ witch. You are my opposite."

 

"But we're brothers!"

 

"I'll still be with you every step of the way, but I can't teach you."

 

"Fine."

 

"Now, start packing. We leave in a week."

 

The taller of the two leaves the room, taking his bad luck with him. The shorter of the two, maybe around Donghyuck or Renjun's age, sits on the bed. He sighs and begins to levitate things into boxes, only a little sad. As long as he could remember, he was with his brother, no parents in sight. He didn't have friends, he lived as an outcast.

 

_ I hope I make plenty of friends in Korea. _

 

"Mark! Come down here please! I need your help again!"

 

Mark sighs, dropping the items to the ground. They don't break, luckily.

 

"Did you get caught in the hole again?"

 

"...no."

 

Mark mutters and heads downstairs to help Taeyong, a small smile gracing his lips. He would at least have his brother by his side in Korea. He doesn't know what he would do if he were alone. Probably die. Or starve to death. Or start crying.

 

"Mark! Hurry up! I think I hear a rat in here!"

 

"Coming!" Mark runs down the stairs two at a time.

 

"That's a fucking racoon! Mark! I'm too young to die!"

 

"You're old, be quiet."

 

Taeyong is pushing himself as far back from the racoon as possible while still being stuck. He pulls on his leg, trying to get loose.

 

"Stop that." Mark slaps Taeyong's leg, frowning. He turns to the racoon and smiles, breathing deep. The racoon immediately soothes, nuzzling against Mark's leg before running out of the door. Mark sighed and then turned back to Taeyong, who sat still, a grumpy look on his face.

 

"Come on, Taeyong. You've gotta stop pouting. Grab my hands." Taeyong complied, grabbing Mark's hands and focussing for a moment. Taeyong's hair turned pink as Mark's took on a platinum blonde color. Mark's eyes shone green, Taeyong's eyes red as blood. Their luck mixes together and Mark forces his luck to overpower Taeyong's, who forces his to back off. Taeyong slips out of the hole with ease and they let go of each other's hands. They revert to their brown and black hair colors, brown eyes. They smile at each other and Mark turns to go back to his room.

 

"She would be proud of you, you know that?" Taeyong calls after him, watching Mark freeze for a moment and take a deep breath in before climbing the stairs two at a time.

 

Just another day with the Lee brothers.

* * *

 

Donghyuck sat in the rocking chair next to the couch, wrapped in his mother's red jacket. She had left an hour ago, leaving Donghyuck home alone. It was already pretty lonely and boring, but he wasn't too sad.

 

A clatter pulled him out of his thoughts and he jolted up, alert. Was somebody in his house? Could he fight them off? He listened for more noises, but nothing came to his ears. He slowly rose from the chair, creeping across the floor. As he neared the kitchen, where the noise came from, he summoned The Rapier. Silver and gold, hot as the sun, it was a powerful tool. Donghyuck leaned against the door for a moment and took a deep breath.

 

_ Just go. Open the door. _

 

He pushed the door open quickly, holding his rapier in an attacking position, but he dropped it when he didn't see anyone. All there was was a single necklace laying on the counter. He had never seen such a beautiful gem before, not even in his mother's collection. He moved towards it slowly, the necklace almost seeming to call for him. When he was within reach, he grabbed it by the chain and picked it up, examining it in the light.

 

It was a beautiful green gem, with yellow and white lines running through it. It was a large circle, about the size of an eyeball. When held up in the light, it glowed like the sun, holding Donghyuck captive. He slipped it around his neck, stroking the gem briefly. It felt so smooth, like butter. He smiled and left the kitchen.

 

Unbeknownst to him, a boy in Canada picked a yellow gem, gorgeous and enticing. Linking necklaces are common, yet neither seemed to realize that they gained a connection.

* * *

 

"Alright, Jaemin. Tell me, what is the identity of my mother?" Seulgi sat across from Jaemin, smiling gently. Jaemin looked troubled and disappointed.

 

"I...I don't know. The voice won't tell me."

 

"Try again. You can do this. Just imagine that you know and have always known." Seulgi tried to break through to Jaemin but his mind is full of thoughts and wonders and questions without answers.

 

"I can't focus!" Jaemin shouts and stands, interrupting his trains of thought. He looks down at the still sitting Seulgi, tears gathering in his eyes. "Why can't I control it?" Seulgi sighs, silent. When she opens her eyes, the snake pupil is back and she has a stern look on her face.

 

"Chosen blood runs through your veins. What that means is that this ability has chosen you, Jaemin, to be the one to control it. Even so, you are still a child. The original chosen ones were older, high schoolers. They were forced into the role and had to master their abilities in a few weeks time. You will achieve complete mastery of this ability, but you must be patient. Take your time." Seulgi closes her eyes and reopens them as she exhales, back to the usual green human eyes. She smiles and gestures for Jaemin to sit. He does, a determined look on his face.

 

"Now, can you tell me the identity of my mother?"

 

_ Jang Sohee, Korean actress. _

 

"Jang Sohee, the Korean actress." 

 

"That's right! See, I knew you could do it!" Seulgi is so proud of him. Even though he basically manipulated her into this, she still cares.

 

"Thank you, Seulgi. Really."

 

Seulgi smiles at Jaemin, fond and true.

 

"No problem."

* * *

 

In the farthest corner of the galaxy, hidden from the eyes and ears of the human race, lies a planet. This planet is full of lifeforms that look normal, almost. However, something is off about them that is glaringly obvious from first glance.

 

No hearts lies within their chest.

 

They are androids, yet aliens. They are living and breathing through music, a constant song holding them steady. Each is born with one, formed only from the music breathing through the universe. Yet, the one we focus on today has not only a song from the universe, but a special gift as well. Inside of his chest is a radio heart. Purple and glittering, the universe created a song with him as he began to exist that courses through him and keeps him afloat. 

 

But why?

 

That's a secret that not even he knows. As he sits on the edge of the world, he truly does wonder why he can hear everyone's songs so clearly.

 

"Daivika!"

 

The boy rises with a sigh and walks back into his home. He is faced with his mother, Inzali.

 

"ဟုတ်ပါတယ်, မိခင်?"

 

"သငျသညျအကြှနျုပျတို့တစျယောကျတညျးအိမျတျောကိုစွန့်ခွာကြဘူးငါသိ၏။ အထဲမှာနေပါ။"

 

"နားလည်ပါတယ်။"

 

Daivika heads into his room and the songs of his people fade when he closes the door.

 

"ချွတ်အသံ။" He collapses onto his bead, falling into rest. Another day alone.

 

But what is this faint song calling to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations!
> 
> ဟုတ်ကဲ့, မိခင်?-Yes, Mother?  
> သငျသညျအကြှနျုပျတို့တစျယောကျတညျးအိမျတျောကိုစွန့်ခွာကြဘူးငါသိ၏။ အထဲမှာနေပါ။-You know we don't leave the house alone. Stay inside.  
> နားလည်ပါတယ်။-I understand.  
> ချွတ်အသံ။-Sound off.
> 
> These are from google translate, so they might be a little wonky! But "I understand" should be right.


	4. in the space with countless stars, you met me. it must not be a coincidence. it was fate, a blessing for me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new player enters the fray, and he enters like hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is...........6k words? it's 20 pages, where the other three were ten.
> 
> title of chapter taken from egoist by olivia hye of loona
> 
> personal twitter: @capitalehyuckie  
> au twitter: @chenlesbloom  
> fic twitter: @AHDBRose

_As he sat on the edge of the world, he felt a song pound through his heart. It was beautiful and full of some sort of pain. Every note felt like a strike to his heart. Whatever was being felt in this person's heart was deep and unknown. He shouldn't be listening in on what seemed like a private matter._

 

_Another song pounded in as the love letter of hell faded away. This song was joyful, a stark contrast to the last. It sang of love from a girl, ten voices singing in harmony. Every pop felt like happiness exploded on his body. Every single voice that sang the song was young, but older than him. The emotions from the song were only positive. It made him sick._

 

_Then came his own song. He didn't know where the song came from, but he knew every word like the back of his hand. Most wouldn't know their song until after training, but he had been born knowing every single word and note and space. He knew his heart already, knew that the full space in his chest made him different. He knew he was seeing through someone else's eyes when he looked out past the edge of the universe. He knew that hearing every song around you wasn't a normal skill. Yet he couldn't seem to figure out why. Why was he the one with this ability? Why was he, a child, so sure of his song? Why was he meant to be the one who saved everyone from the ruin? Why was he supposed to be someone great? Why was he here? Why was he thinking these thoughts?_

 

_Why is a human seeing something through him?_

 

Jeno's head snapped up and he began to breathe again, clutching at his heart. What the _fuck_ had just happened?

 

"Woah! Jeno, are you okay? What happened?" Daniel's concerned voice cut through his hazy thoughts, forcing him out of his stupor. He nodded, breathing slowing down gradually. As soon as he was calm again, he leaned back against the wall behind him.

 

"I'll ask again. _What happened?_ " Daniel's voice was both soft and firm at the same time, obvious concern bleeding through.

 

"I was having a vision of a...world. I sat at the edge, listening to a song pound through my heart. Then that one cut off and a new one started and there were more thoughts and then. Then, a song began to play that was so _empty_. It felt like I was breathing through someone else's lungs. I began to ask myself questions in my mind and then the person I was seeing through asked a question and I got startled."

 

"What was the question?"

 

" _Why is a human seeing something through him?"_ Jeno took a deep breath. His training with Daniel was going well, his control over his powers much stronger and more secure. However, there were still moments when he didn't control what he saw. Sometimes, he saw somebody's deepest fears or the moment when they saw their loved ones die or he saw the instance they were considered an outlaw. He saw secrets that should have stayed secrets.

 

"Do you happen to know what I was seeing, Daniel? I just don't know. It felt like a dream of sorts. Where was I?"

 

Daniel sat deep in thought for a bit, eyes snakelike. Jeno noticed that his and Seulgi's eyes did that when they tapped into their magic or when they focussed extra hard. It was like a magnifying lens, it let them see things not visible to the naked eye.

 

"Ah!" Daniel rose from the ground and ran his finger over the spines of the books on his bookshelf. He searched for a few seconds more before letting out a small 'ah' and plucking a book off the shelf.

 

"This is the book that should tell us. You said you heard songs, right?" Jeno nodded, apprehensive. "Then, this book should tell us where it's from. Even if we don't have all knowledge of this place, then we still have the name and where it is." Daniel cracked the book open and sat down beside Jeno. They sat together, scanning page after page, searching. There were a few instances where they thought it could be it, but something in Jeno screamed that those weren't it.

 

"This is the last section. If we don't find it, what should we do?" Daniel looked over to Jeno in question but when he noticed the determined look on Jeno's face, he nodded and turned the page.

 

In the planets section, there were pages full of pictures, name and lifeforms. However, they were all basic. Mercury, Venus, Mars. Nothing that stood out. The flipped a few more pages, the information becoming scarce as they moved out of the Milky Way. They moved into the Music Hall, three pages present. Daniel had just about lost hope when Jeno pointed at a page and shouted.

 

_Reverie: Planet of Dreamy Music_

 

_Inhabitants: Android aliens_

 

_Known information: In the farthest corner of the galaxy, hidden from the eyes and ears of the human race, lies a planet. This planet is full of lifeforms that look normal, almost. However, something is off about them that is glaringly obvious from first glance. No hearts lies within their chest. They are androids, yet aliens. They are living and breathing through music, a constant song holding them steady. Each is born with one, formed only from the music breathing through the universe._

 

_Deities/Gods: Cosmos_

 

_Enemies: Ruin_

 

_Legends: The showdown will be recorded forever. It's not only about music, but also a talk between Ruin and Cosmos._

 

_Language: Language of Stars and Chaos Language_

 

"Are you sure? This planet doesn't even have a picture to go with it."

 

"I'm positive. This planet has to be it. But, this information. It feels familiar. Like I've heard about it before."

 

"Maybe, through your vision?"

 

Jeno shakes his head, trying to focus.

 

_A book lays in the hands of a girl. As his sight pans upwards, the girl holding the book speaks._

 

_"I gave you my power, Jeno. Use it wisely."_

 

Jeno gasps, pushed back into reality. He grabs at Daniel's arm, grounding himself.

 

"What's wrong? What happened just now?"

 

"I saw a book. A girl was holding it. When I tried to look up at her, she started talking. She said she gave me my power. She told me to use it wisely."

 

Daniel's eyes went wide and he bolted back to the bookshelf. It took him one glance to find the book he was looking for and he pulled it off the shelf in a hurry. He turned to Jeno with a grave expression.

 

"Is this the book?"

 

In red letters on the cover were words that made Jeno's blood run cold.

 

_The Huang, Na, Lee Family Histories_

* * *

 

A week passed, a single week of freedom. The calm before the storm, if you will. While Renjun caught up with his family, Jaemin continued to practice relentlessly. He was able to now call on the voice for simple answers to questions, but anything harder than that is going to be a sort of dice roll. And while Jaemin and Renjun lived on with their lives, Donghyuck wore his necklace more. It began to glow a little as the week passed, and by Monday when they went back to school, it was glowing so bright that Donghyuck had to create a special case to keep the glow hidden. He was excited to learn why he had been graced with the necklace. He had called his mom and she had determined that it was a linking necklace, but she was unsure why he had gotten one. But she determined that the glowing meant that his linked person was getting closer.

 

And while the three of them lived in peace?

 

Jeno read the book.

 

The book was a tomb, holding the histories of not just his family, but also Jaemin's and Renjun's. According to Daniel, it was a magical book, and it wrote itself as new things were learned. Another feature of the book was that it could change from being the histories of the families to the histories of just one person, so long as they were in the family of one of the three. Even adopted children, those you house for longer than a month, those with bonds to people in the families. If they were important to the family, they were in there.

 

However, he could not access all of the pages yet.

 

He assumed he needed more knowledge or that the universe was telling him that he needed to wait or _something_. Whatever it was, Jeno respected that. He reread the pages he could, reading about the Lee and Na family, and a brief entry about the Huang family. But aside from that, nothing happened with Jeno.

 

But with a week having passed, a new player entered the game.

 

And _boy_ did he enter with a bang.

* * *

 

Donghyuck sat in the classroom with his friends, talking before class started. After that incident on the first day of school, Jeno and Jaemin seemed very secretive about things. They told blatant lies, always with Daniel and Seulgi. Jeno was always looking at Donghyuck and Renjun with questions in his eyes, questions he wouldn't ask. But Renjun was focused on his training and his brothers and cousins, which left Donghyuck to his own devices of wonder.

 

"Alright class! I some exciting news!" Mr.Seo clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, and Donghyuck couldn't help but notice something was... _off._ There was a change in Mr.Seo's aura, not a bad one, not at all, but a change nonetheless.

 

"Today, we have a new student joining our class. He's older than you all, but the class for fourth graders is full. He'll be here with us, but he won't be learning the same curriculum." Mr.Seo walked over to the door, opening it to reveal a boy who was moderately tall with a very chubby face, but then again, he was a fourth grader.

 

"Come introduce yourself! This is Mark, for reference."

 

The boy walked forward, stepping perfectly over the snag in the carpet that Mr.Seo, the man who had been in the classroom for over four years, tripped over, catching himself right before falling flat on his face. Mark turned around in alarm, holding out his hand for Mr.Seo to grab.

 

"Yikes. Are you okay?" Mark's voice was, in short, very nice. It was soft and squishy, but there was an underlying hardness that came from keeping secrets and having trauma built into your bones.

 

"Yes. Thank you. How did you not trip as well?" At Mr.Seo's question, Mark blanched just a little, but he quickly recovered.

 

"I guess I'm just lucky."

 

Donghyuck could tell something was off about Mark as well. He knew that everybody, including him, always tripped on the carpet. Yet Mark, this new boy from who knows where, didn't? Strange.

 

Mark stood at the front of the room, smiling.

 

"My name is Mark Lee and I moved here from Canada. I'm ten years old and I live with my brother. Uh, I'm a fourth grader. It's nice to meet all of you."

 

"Well, the only seats are at the doubles desk, but I don't want you sitting alone. How about...Donghyuck!" Donghyuck snapped to attention, looking at Mr. Seo with very slight alarm. "Would you mind moving to sit next to Mark? Tomorrow, I'll have a new desk for you so he can sit with you and your other friends. Is that okay?"

 

Donghyuck makes eye contact with Mark, who seems to be getting increasingly more nervous as he stands in front of the scrutinizing eyes of third graders. When he locks eyes with Donghyuck, the world goes still. He can feel something connecting them, something bringing them together.

 

"Yeah, I'll sit with him." Donghyuck gathers up his things and moves to the aforementioned desk. It's by the window and the morning sun shines on his skin in just the right way that Mark can't help but think that Donghyuck is really pretty, even for a third grader.

 

As they sit besides each other, the lesson starts, but Mark tunes it out. He turns to Donghyuck and the first thing he notices is that Donghyuck's eyes are brown, but when the light hits them just right, they seem to glow yellow, so bright and airy that Mark can't help but fall just a little in love with him.

 

"Hi! I'm Mark. You're Donghyuck, right?" The pretty boy turns to him, looking confused.

 

"Yeah, why?" His voice is nice, and Mark knows it'll get nicer when he gets older.

 

"I hope we can be friends? If you don't mind?"

 

Donghyuck sits in contemplation for a moment, but then he smiles, and digs something out of his pocket.

 

"Sure! My mom is a fortune teller and she told me to make this bracelet for a Mark. I'm sure it's you who I should give it to! See? We match!" Donghyuck hands the bracelet off to Mark, who slips it onto his wrist, and they hold their wrists next to each other's, smiling.

 

Mark knows they'll be friends.

 

He'd be unlucky not to.

When class ends, Mark sits in his seat as Donghyuck gets up and calls to his friends. He watches as Donghyuck talks to his friends as they gather their things to go eat lunch. As they're about to walk out the door, Donghyuck stops them and turns to Mark.

 

"So, Mark, do you want to eat lunch with us? We eat together every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so you can sit with us on those days. Not sure about Tuesday and Friday."

 

Mark stands up, nodding as he gathers his things. He scampers over to them, noticing how small they all are. Donghyuck's friends consist of a very small boy named Renjun, a slightly larger boy named Jaemin and a very nice seeming boy named Jeno. They all looked like they held a secret, but Mark didn't mind.

 

It's not like he didn't have his own.

 

"Uh, hi! You guys are all friends, right?"

 

"Uh, yeah! Lemme introduce you!" Donghyuck gestures to his friends, rattling off their names, his smile wide.

 

"Well, hi! I hope we can all be good friends." He smiles wide enough to hide his eyes, the green too obvious. They begin to walk, Mark naturally falling into the conversation, swiftly creating inside jokes and bonds. The day itself passed uneventfully, but only inside school.

 

Once Mark returned home however, it was a different story.

 

He walked in to find Taeyong sitting, speaking with another person, with said person seeming to be around Taeyong's age, if not younger.

 

"Oh, Mark! Come here!" Mark walked over a little hesitantly and sat down beside Taeyong.

 

"This is Jung Yoonoh, the Junior Officer of Magic! He's going to assign you a teacher for your powers and help us get situated with our new location.

 

"Hi, you're Mark Lee, the luck witch, right?" His voice was kind and his face was soft. He was young, Mark could tell. "I'm Yoonoh, but please, call me Jaehyun."

 

"Yeah, I'm Mark. Uh, are there any other luck witches in Seoul?"

 

"Only two. One is your age, and you will be training under the wing of the other witch. Is that okay?" Jaehyun was nice, and he was very good looking. Mark decided that he liked Jaehyun.

 

"Sure. Can I meet the both of them?"

 

"Of course! They're on their way here, actually, along with the Ambassador of Magic and his younger brother." Jaehyun trailed off for a moment, eyes flashing purple before casting an image in front of them of a white box.

 

"What's this?" Taeyong's voice was apprehensive, his body subtly moving to block Mark from an possible danger. His eyes flash red for a moment, not just signaling his fear but also his unease.

 

"It's the box holding the ring that will be given to the next Headmaster of Magic. Don't worry, it's safe." Taeyong moves back to his original position at Jaehyun's words but has to jump up when there are fours knocks on the door. The image fades and Mark can't help but feel like he knows what's about to happen.

 

And then Taeyong trips and makes a hole in the ground, which he promptly gets stuck in.

 

"Son of a bitch! Mark, can you come help me?"

 

Mark sighs and rises, grabbing Taeyong's hands. Jaehyun makes a move to get up and help, but Mark waves him off.

 

"Alright ,Taeyong. Back off."

 

Once again, their hair changes colors, eyes shining. Taeyong's pink hair rises for a moment and Mark's knees get a little weak, but then Taeyong's hair flattens against his head while Mark's platinum hair rises. The red and green of their eyes shine bright and Mark pulls Taeyong from the hole. They stand for a bit as they fade back to normal, ignoring how Jaehyun is literally gaping like a fish. Mark sits back on the couch while Taeyong goes to the door.

 

"Who is it?"

 

"It's the Headmaster of Magic, of course."

 

Taeyong practically throws the door open and launches himself into the arms of the Headmaster, who hugs him back.

 

"Taeil! You, I, we-"

 

"It's okay. It's okay. I know, I know. I missed you too."

 

Nobody seems to know what's happening besides the two of them, but then Mark hears a shout of surprise, a young voice he knows.

 

"Mark?!"

 

Mark jumps from the couch and turns to the doorway. It's Renjun. Oh my god, it's Renjun.

 

"Okay, _what_ is going on?!" The yelling is from the boy next to Renjun, an unfamiliar face. He's got black hair, he's tall, he's kinda muscular. Oh gosh, Mark is intimidated.

 

"Yukhei, that's the boy I was telling you about," Renjun says in a stage whisper.

 

"Oh! That's Mark? He's the kid you said looked like he could be strong one day? But he's so...flimsy."

 

"Hey!" Mark's shout alerts Taeyong, who separates from Taeil just in time to see the lights flicker.

 

" _Mark._ "

 

Mark looks over to Taeyong, who, at his tender age of 15, was already being the parent that Mark couldn't have. That neither of them could have.

 

Mark deflates and the lights stop flickering.

 

"Sorry."

 

Taeyong sighs and gestures for everyone to come in. He closes the door behind them and then takes his seat by Mark. They sit with hands entwined together, feeling like it's them against the world.

 

"So, let's introduce ourselves, yes?" Jaehyun fidgets, feeling a little out of place. He's not close to anyone here but everyone else knows someone else. "I'll go first. I'm Jung Jaehyun, the Junior Officer of Magic. I am the current host of the Oracle of Delphi and I have powers of projection." He sighs, long and heavy. At his age of 13, already such a large burden. "Who would like to go next?"

 

Taeyong raises his hand, clearing his throat. "My name is Lee Taeyong, Mark's older brother. I'm 15 and I have powers of bad luck, but luck nonetheless. I also have an affinity for curses. I was born in Korea, but I've lived in Canada all my life." Taeyong looks down as soon as he finishes, shy.

 

"I'll go next then. I'm Qian Kun, the Ambassador of Magic. I am a magical boy, hereditary, and I am currently watching over my younger brother. I am the current head of all magical politics, but I'm not the boss." Kun is kind and Mark can't feel and ill will from him, so he's deemed safe. "Ah! I'm 12!"

 

So young, pulling the weight of an entire culture.

 

"Ah, uh, I'm Renjun. I'm a magical boy, hereditary, and I'm Kun's brother. I'm nine and I go to school with Mark." He trails off for a moment, eyes downcast. "I don't really have anything to say about myself to be honest. Sorry."

 

Why were the innocent always hurt like this?

 

"Hey! I'm Wong Yukhei, Renjun's epic cousin! I'm 10 years old and I'm a lucky clover! I'm apart of WayV, the organization of young, Chinese magical beings in our coven! I speak a little English and I speak Korean, Cantonese, Chinese! It's nice to meet you!"

 

How could the stars let such young children carry these fates?

 

"Mark, it's your turn." Taeyong leans down to whisper, knowing that Mark's head is turning.

 

"Can...can Taeil go first? I need to collect myself, I'm sorry."

 

Taeyong looks over at Taeil, who nods with a smile. Such a kind boy. A boy. A child.

 

"Hi, I'm Moon Taeil. I'm 16 years old and I am the oldest lucky clover holder in the world. I am the Headmaster of Magic, I'm the one who runs the whole show. I'm going to choose my successor when I turn 30, as that is when I assume my power will dwindle."

 

Seven year old children shouldn't be gods.

 

"I guess there's no more stalling. I'm Mark Lee. I'm Taeyong's younger brother. I was born in Canada and have lived there for my entire life." Taeyong flinched. Interesting. "I'm a luck witch. I specialize in luck and spells. Taeyong says it's possible that I will gain more powers, but I don't know about that. I'm 10 years old and I speak English, Korean, Latin, Spanish and some Thai." Mark stops speaking immediately, leaving a silence filled only by breathing.

 

"So, we're here to discuss something, not to play games." Taeil has entered his business mode, but he's _only 16._ "Mark and Yukhei need to be trained, and I am the one most capable of training them. However, I am a very busy person, with running the entirety of over fifteen magic covens. The only times I am available are very strict hours on Saturday and Sunday, and then I will not be available until the next weekend unless something is finished beforehand. So, if you are there, we will work on our powers of luck without mercy. Luck, along with bad luck, is the hardest power to master. You must know how to command, you must know what you want, you must know. Luck is difficult to master, difficult to control. It won't be easy, but it'll be worth your trouble. Will you accept?"

 

Mark doesn't even have to think.

 

"Yes. I'm willing to put in the work."

 

Yukhei follows close behind in his decision, a smile on his face.

 

"Of course I will! When can we start?"

 

Taeil smiled and sat back, his gaze soft.

 

"Technically, while Jaehyun and Kun work with Taeyong to get you two settled here, we can do some basic work. Renjun, would you mind helping me? Mark may need help with spells. You can assist me in training him, hm?"

 

"Yes!" Renjun hopped in his seat, his voice bright. Helping the Headmaster of Magic in training his own personal disciples? Like he would give up _that_ chance.

 

"Then, Jaehyun, Kun? Can you discuss with Taeyong?"

 

"Of course," they replied in unison.

 

"Um, Mark, could you show them to the basement so we can talk in here? It's a bigger space than this, so it might be better." Taeyong is smiling uneasily, concerns taking him over. What is Mark doesn't flourish? What if he's not up to Taeil's standards?

 

"Let's go then."

 

Mark leads Renjun, Yukhei and Taeil down to the basement, which he decorated earlier with lavender and yellow paint, with glow in the dark stars, adding green when the lights are off. They step into the middle of the room and Taeil and Renjun move to stand off to the side. Yukhei begins to stretch his body and practice his breathing, but Mark just stands for a moment. He can feel the four leaf clover tattoo on his back, right above the pentagram, and it brings him comfort. He follows Yukhei's lead in stretching and breathing, and when he's ready, he stands besides Yukhei, waiting for Taeil to tell them what to do.

 

"So, Yukhei, tell me. What is the extent of your luck? What can you do?"

 

"Um, I have the ability to control what effects me? Like, I'm naturally lucky, but I can amplify this luck and my hair turns light brown and my eyes turn green when I do. I can override other's luck if I amplify mine enough. I have the minor ability to control people's movements, but it's not very powerful yet."

 

_Fuck. Will I be able to equate to that?_

 

"Hm. Mark?"

 

"Oh. I can amplify my luck too, which turns my hair platinum blonde and my eyes green. I uh, can override people's luck to the extent that I can make them immune for twenty minutes, but then I get very tired. I can also mix my spells and my luck to create a guaranteed result or to create a sort of environment control."

 

Taeil makes a confused face, which prompts Mark to elaborate.

 

"Like, earlier, when Yukhei called me flimsy and the lights started flickering. It's a powerful skill, with only two other instances to draw from."

 

"And what might those instances be?"

 

"Uh." Mark looks away. While one was pretty tame compared to the other, they both really fucked him up and made him sort of, como se dice, _careful_ with his emotions.

 

"The first was when I nearly drowned a dude who kidnapped me. And the other, uh, yikes. When my mom died, about three months after that incident, I had found out and freaked. I kinda, oh, what was it? Right! I summoned a tornado."

 

Surprise rang from everybody. This pipsqueak summoned a tornado? Granted, he was emotionally unstable, but a tornado is a tornado!

 

"Wow. It sounds like you need help with your emotional control! Luckily, Hyuckie is equipped to help with that." Renjun chimed in with a bright voice, startling Mark a little.

 

"Donghyuck is a magical being too? Are Jaemin and Jeno?"

 

Renjun shook his head. "Donghyuck is, but to my knowledge, Jaemin and Jeno aren't. Jeno even denies the existence of magic." Renjun smiles fondly while shaking his head. "I don't want them caught up in this mess. Anyways!"

 

Taeil holds his hand up, silencing the room.

 

"Now, we will begin with training our abilities. Yukhei and Mark, can you show me the overriding of someone else's luck?"

 

Yukhei stepped forward, grabbing Renjun's hand, who volunteered for this example. Yukhei breathed in, pulling in his luck. His hair began to lighten and his eyes turned green and he removed his hand from Renjun's slowly. He stared Renjun in the eye for a moment before Renjun's eyes turned green as well. When Yukhei raised his hand, Renjun did as well, and when Yukhei spun around, Renjun followed.

 

"Wow. That is very impressive. Is this the movement control and luck override you were talking about?" Taeil's voice has taken on a bright and scholarly tone and it's clear to Mark that Taeil know what he's talking about.

 

"Yeah! In the future, I can say what I want them to do and they'll just do it, but for now, I'm stuck on mirror image stuff." Yukhei's hair faded back to black, eyes following to brown. Renjun slumped over for a moment while holding his head before rising and looking around in a daze. When his head cleared, he fell over, tripping over nothing.

 

"What the heck? I've never been this unlucky before." Renjun sat up, looking at Yukhei and Mark confused.

 

"Well, my power kind of saps the luck out of a being for a bit? It'll restore in a little bit, cause I don't think I took that much." Yukhei steps back, leaving Mark as the center of attention.

 

"So, Mark. Demonstrate to me your luck override."

 

"Uh, it works differently from Yukhei's? Like, mine works best when I use it with Taeyong. Like, he often trips and falls or gets stuck and gets himself into a sticky situation, so I override his luck. It may work on others if I try, but it'll be really hard." Mark shuffled back and forth, thinking of when his brother got stuck when he was phasing through a wall and Mark was forced to expel Taeyong's magic long enough for Mark to overpower his and pull him out. He had passed out for two days, his luck having expanded itself much to far.

 

"Well, would you mind trying? I completely understand where you're coming from, but it's best to try." Taeil voiced his encouragement, and Mark couldn't help but believe him.

 

Renjun stepped forward, and Mark grabbed his hands. His hair turned platinum blonde and eyes emerald green and he began to pull Renjun's luck and transform it into good luck. When he sees a four leaf clover appear on Renjun's hand and he feels his begin to burn, he pulls away and focusses.

 

"Renjun, can you phase through that wall?"

 

"I can try."

 

Renjun walks up to the wall and breaths in. The four leaf clover on the back of his hand glows briefly before Renjun walks through the wall to the other side. When he walks back out, he's gaping.

 

"I've never been able to do that!"

 

"Look at your hand."

 

Renjun looks down at his hand, seeing the four leaf clover on the back of his hand and looks back up at Mark.

 

"Is this yours?"

 

Mark shrugs.

 

"Yeah. It's my mark of luck. It's why I was named Mark actually! I have it on my back right above….I'm sorry." Mark trails off, his eyes glazing over for a moment, and it was evident he was somewhere else.

 

"Would it make you tired to remove it from Renjun's hand?" Taeil's voice is soft, like he can feel that now is the time to be a brother figure. Mark shakes his head and grabs Renjun's hand. He breathes in for a second and then breathes out, the four leaf clover disappearing. Mark instantly feels better.

 

"Well, I think that's a good spot for today. Now that I know your dominant powers, I can formulate a training procedure made specifically for each of you. Now, I have to leave, I have a meeting with the Chinese branch." Taeil smiles at the three boys, who smile back, Yukhei adding a 'hells yeah!' in excitement, and they all head upstairs, conversations flowing.

 

As they come closer to the living room, they hear Taeyong and Jaehyun gasping in awe while Kun performs small tricks. They were simple, but they made you laugh. When they noticed the returning group, they went quiet. Taeyong spoke up, nervous.

 

"So, how did it go?"

 

"It went great." Taeil smiled and gestured to the door. "We must go now, but it was very nice to meet you. I'm going to create a plan for each of them to hone their individual abilities. I've noticed that Mark's luck is more oriented in sureness, while Yukhei's is rooted in the physical attributes of control. It would be nice to see what they can do in the future."

 

"Thank you for coming out today. I know you're really busy, Taeil. I'll see you some other time." Taeyong gave a hug to each of the representatives as they left while Mark waved to Yukhei and Renjun. Tomorrow was Tuesday, and he would be with Donghyuck and Renjun during lunch.

 

There was something he needed to talk to Donghyuck about.

* * *

 

When Mark arrived at school the next day, he sat down at the new desk, sitting next to Donghyuck, who turned to him with a huge smile.

 

"Hey, Mark! Since today is Tuesday, Jaemin and Jeno eat lunch with two older kids, Daniel and Seulgi. Renjun and I eat together. I'm not sure if Renjun would let you, it's kind of our personal time? We'll find out later." He talked a lot, not that Mark minded. His voice was nice to listen to.

 

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something today, if that's okay? I have something that I think you would find interesting! Renjun can know about it too, but it's gotta stay between us." Mark was hopeful, all because of a hunch. Usually, Mark would ignore these hunches, but this came from a vision he had in a dream. That's not something he ignores.

 

"Uh, sure! I'm sure I'll find it cool or whatever."

 

They stopped talking as Mr.Seo started class, handing Mark copies of the notes for his class and the worksheet. Ah. Long division.

 

The class passed with mild ease, even though Ryan, Giana, Aria and Luan all got into a brief argument that disrupted the class. Mark is proud to say that he effectively stopped it by casting a spell of understanding. He noticed how Renjun glanced at him from across Donghyuck, but he waved him off. Nothing else happened, and soon, the class was over. Everybody rose from their seats, including Jaemin and Jeno, who waved themselves off, meeting with who mark assumed was Daniel and Seulgi, which left Donghyuck, Renjun and Mark in the room alone. With Mr.Seo still, but he was texting. Mark turned to Renjun, who nodded at him and they both stood in tandem.

 

"Alright. Mark, you can come with us for lunch. Donghyuck, do you object?" As Renjun spoke, they began to leave the room, Donghyuck trailing behind slightly, a little nervous.

 

"But, _Renjun_ , you know that this is our time to practice. How can we practice with Mark there?"

 

They opened the door to the roof, but stopped dead in their tracks, a woman sitting in the middle. She had her eyes closed and she looked pretty peaceful, but she had a terrifying aura that all three of them picked up on.

 

"Mark," Renjun started whispering. "Do you know who that is?"

 

Mark began to shake his head, but he nodded instead. It clicked who this woman was. Mark's terrified expression soon morphed into one of annoyance. He strode forward, ignoring how Donghyuck and Renjun called his name. He tapped the woman on the shoulder and didn't flinch when her eyes opened with black sclera and purple pupils.

 

"Auntie, what are you doing here?" Mark's voice dripped pure and utter annoyance, a slight bit of anger mixed in.

 

The woman smiled and stood, her purple dress brushing against the ground for a moment before she rose to her full height and the dress fell to her knees. She was a whopping 6'2, towering over Mark and his friends, Renjun in particular.

 

"Minhyungie! Oh, sweetie, is that any way to greet your favorite aunt?" She held her arms out for a hug, and even though Mark looked annoyed, he still returned the hug with plenty of affection. When they separated, Mark beckoned Renjun and Donghyuck over. As they stood beside him, he decided now was the time to drop one of the many bombs he would be dropping.

 

"Guys, this is my aunt. You may know her as the titaness and/or goddess Hecate. Depends on who you ask."

 

Hecate smiled down at Renjun and Donghyuck but her smile turned into a more quizzical look as she looked at Donghyuck. She crouched down, bringing them to about the same height.

 

"You must be Lee Donghyuck. You know, I quite like you. You must be a tarot witch. You have my magic, quite a bit of it too." She turns to Renjun. "And you must be Huang Renjun. Ah, you're a magical boy! I remember the very first of your kind." Hecate looked off wistfully, secrets held within her eyes. "She's up there, waiting." She watched the sky for a few more moments before she blinked the wistfulness out of her eyes, smiling down at Renjun and Donghyuck before she stood up, patting Mark on the head.

 

"Nyx said she wanted you to visit her shrine some time this week, oh, you can even bring your friends! Visit me later this week, too. I miss my little Minhyungie." Hecate was beautiful. She had long black hair and tan skin. Her purple eyeshadow and extreme winged eyeliner was part of her charm, and it really brought out her eyes. The eyes that she blinked to brown, as humans weren't supposed to see through to her real eyes.

 

"Bye, Minhyungie! Oh, and, one last comment before I go." Hecate began to glow and Mark lunged to cover Renjun and Donghyuck's eyes and close his own. Hecate's voice began to echo.

 

_Follow Selene and Nyx to find the next clue. The children of the big three will help you. The two dragons of old are among thee. The group may now be five friends, but it was once three. Don't go alone, Minhyungie._

 

When her voice died out, Mark allowed himself to open his eyes and uncover the eyes of his friends. They stood on the roof, silent, for just a moment.

 

"What just happened?" Donghyuck broke the silence, his voice soft but carrying.

 

"That was my aunt, Hecate." Mark turns to look at Renjun and Donghyuck, who look utterly confused. "Nyx is my other aunt, but not by blood. My mother was Hecate's sister. It's why I have the symbol of magic on my back. Caerus is my godfather. That's kind of why I have such a strong luck power."

 

"So, you're essentially a demigod? Seriously?" Renjun's voice has raised an octave, surprise evident.

 

Mark just nods.

 

"So, wait." The wheels in Donghyuck's head turn for a moment before his gaze zeroes in on Mark again. "You use luck magic? And spells?"

 

"Yeah. I mean, without their help, I would still use luck, but I wouldn't use spells. I might not even know that luck is a power without them. They raised me when my mother and Taeyong couldn't."

 

The air on the roof was slightly tense, just a little dark and yet, it was bright and joyful. That was magic, no doubt about it.

 

"Do you wanna train with us," Donghyuck blurted, the silence a little too much for him. Mark stared for a second before a smile graced his features and he nodded.

 

"For a second, I thought we would have to fight whoever was on the roof." Renjun chimed in. "Glad Mark knew who she was!" Each of them laughed, tension released.

 

Mark stopped laughing, a thought occuring.

 

"Donghyuck, I have something to show you!" Donghyuck sat at attention, waiting for Mark to finally show him whatever it was that was so interesting. Mark pulled out the necklace he found, a yellow gem with green and white lines running through the circle. Renjun just watched as Donghyuck gasped and pulled a necklace from beneath his shirt. As they came into contact, the spells on them broke, the glow bright and almost blinding. Renjun didn't get it, but they did.

 

"They're linking necklaces. Mark, this means we're linked?" Before their eyes, the gems changed colored. Donghyuck's turned from green to purple and Mark's turned from yellow to red. The lines changed as well. Now, Donghyuck's was a deep purple with red and white lines running and swirling through in a parade of fun. Mark's was red, bright and molten, with deep purple and white lines swirling around, like a carousel.

 

The three all stood in silence, the weight of everything hitting them.

 

What was going on?

* * *

 

Years ago, there was nothing, nowhere. Then there was a sun, a bright being who held so much power that she could only contain things around her, never meet them. Then, planets. Avoiding talking about those who do not matter to our story, we zoom in on Earth. It was created by a ball of rocks, blah blah blah. Then, a being appeared to take control of Earth and be the God. Her name was BoA.

 

_Error. Error. System shutdown._

 

BoA was friends with deities of other planets in the Milky Way, but also the ones outside, such as in the Music Hall.

 

_A single note hung in the air, signaling the end of the song._

 

Ruin and Cosmos were friends at first, but they grew to be too different. They fought, they hated, they yelled. The song that they sang together was lost.

 

_"Huang Renjun brings light to the world!"_

 

Then Ruin defeated Cosmos.

 

_(When the Sacrifice must be commenced)_

 

The world of Music Hall was thrown into chaos for many long years. Until, BoA and other deities from the Milky Way pushed Ruin back onto a planet, called The Ruined Land, and all was calm in the Music Hall. Cosmos and Ruin were separated. But what about the third planet?

 

_"Hello. My name is [ERROR]. I come from the far out planet of Reverie. Thank you for returning my heart."_

 

The planet was called တိတ်ဆိတ်ခြင်(Tatesate Hkyinn). It was ruled by the deity Nebula. She was a deity that was swept under the rug.

 

_Project [ERROR], Status: Offline._

 

She was kind and benevolent, she never got into trouble. She was the poster child of music.

 

_"Some say that Nebula is important enough to be reincarnated, but she's never done anything! If she was reborn, she'd be human. Haha!"_

 

But Nebula wasn't born to be ignored. Nebula was born to shine, to be passionate. So she was.

 

_"Did you hear? Nebula and the entirety of the planet disappeared! Nobody can find its signal!"_

 

Nebula would show them. She would show them all. Never underestimate a deity of music. Especially not one who would willingly explode just to be reborn as something great. If she burned out and died, she would do it with passion!

 

_Can you see the night sky? Can you feel the bass thumping? Can you hear the voices of a lunatic and a hopeless romantic blasting through the fire?_

 

_Your facial expressions towards me_

_Turned cold at some moment_

  
_"Cosmos is a ancient sound that can be accessed by the one found suitable by the Ring of Music. But the Ring of Music was lost years ago. Nobody knows where it is."_ **_Nebula laughs._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you find grammar or spelling errors......tell me

**Author's Note:**

> that was the first chapter! i don't know when the next chapter will be up b/c i have responsibilities as a human. 14 years old should not have me popping blood vessels or whatever the fuck happens to make my eye look fucking crazy like it did that one time


End file.
